Are these laptops reliable?

To whom it may concern:

I bought an Alienware m14x about two months ago, but it broke down in various ways four times in a row. I finally got a full refund last night, and I need to decide whether I will try the same model again or go to a competitor. Have you guys had any problems with your computers? Do you think that I just got a lemon? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much,
Pastacat

 

6 months and zero problems here, just the mic issue that was solved by replacing the screen.

 

Hi,

Your laptop is just a bunch of electronic parts screwed together and packaged in a box. right?

That out of the way its amazing these are as reliable as they are. I've had great luck and bad luck with all ranges of laptops.

I have an exchange on order right now for a M18x that has gone through 6 major repairs. Though the incompetent tech they sent did the most damage on 4 of the repair attempts. However the video cards seemed problematic. 4 pair were replaced. 560's, 6970's and 580's. Im pretty sure the tech shorted the motherboard as well. It was replaced.

I just got an M14x from the outlet and it seems ok so far with following exceptions: Missing soundblaster software, Wifi card (killer) drops the network often and the bluetooth wont control a bluetooth mouse that i made a connection to. (mouse works on other pc's) im sure Alienware will send replacement wireless and bluetooth cards and the problems will be solved. Overall im very impressed. I checked and i have the gf116 version of the 555 and i checked the temps under load and they run much cooler than what some complained about. 60c Max on the video card and 83, 77, 73, 73 on the cpu under load for 45 minutes. I'm happy with that.

In short, its luck of the draw. It sounds like you had some bad luck on that one. If you would otherwise like a laptop like that one buy it again. If not then try an macbook. When you are tired of a slow laptop you'll come back to higher performance Alienware's again.

Also remember that most people come here to complain and seek answers. So if you go by what people are saying its going to be towards the negative. However since Alienware has sold many many thousands of these laptops your odds are good of getting a good one next time.

good luck.

 

Well I haven't had a problem with mine. Perhaps you could give it another go? I honestly love this laptop, and I'd hate to see you gain a bad opinion on it because of a bad experience.

 

had to replace my thermal 1 month in. some what reliable depends on your luck loll

 

depends on the luck as aranthira said... i am EXTREMELY happy with my laptop, and it's a refurb from the outlet (saved MASSIVE $ and it's like brand new - as was my last refurb from the outlet)... i DO NOT regret this laptop, but i think i got a good one

Edit: make sure to check your temps when you get yours if you do since sometimes (common problem) the tech that build the laptops apply the thermal paste very shoddily... put some shin etsu or other high quality thermal paste on your CPU and heat sink (for graphics card) and it'll run a lot better if so (you can bring your laptop a geek squad or any other laptop/computer repair shop and they'll do it for you for cheap i think)

 

I'd say stick with the m14x. But of course there are competitors. From xoticpc you can get an msi for under a grand that has a gtx 570m, or for 1499 you can really got a hooked up version, two hdds, 12gb ram, etc.

MSI GT683DXR-603 - XOTIC PC - MSI Ultimate Gaming Laptop

configured your way of course.

Cheaper version
http://www.xoticpc.com/force-16f2012-msi-16f2-p-3376.html
this one is a bit more boring, dual core i5 as well.

Those are the laptops i would recommend if you weren't going to stick with alienware. Nothing beats an alienware in terms of aesthetics. I never get bored of the design, always a pleasure to look at and use. These won't be as good aesthetically, but the components are amazing. A gtx 570m will smoke a gt555m.

 

I agree with you, because new laptop doesnt mean it will not broke, in fact all electronic device are prone to these problems, it can be broke at anytime. As for me I've been having this laptop for around 7 months now and it didnt give me any major problem though, and I do admit it that I have problem with this laptop but it is not serious, the only one serious problem is that I got a HDD failure around after 3 months of use but got it replace later on thanks to the warranty.

And all laptop are not the same, even though the parts are in the same category but it is made differently, so the chance of failure is also different, it is maybe you having a bad luck because I can say that I'm quite satisfy with this laptop for a 14" laptop. To me this laptop is really reliable in term of performance if compare to other laptop with the same price.

 

Hi
Ive had my M14x for over a month and no problems what so ever. Idk if its just me but when I spend over 1k on a laptop I take care of it. I see so many people saying stuff is breaking when most of the time its just user inflicted. Im not saying you dont care of stuff btw :3 I think you got a lemon

 

My motherboard died one month in but I've had no problems since it's been replaced and now love this machine.

The fact we are talking about being lucky on how well your machine is being put together in the factory to me makes me think these machines are not necessarily very reliable (I didn't pay this much to play russian roulette on its reliablity).

I just wish I had the money to have spent it on getting the extended warranty as I'm paranoid now something will happen once the standard years runs out?

 

Let me put it this way:

Once upon a time there was a kid who purchased a computer technology magazine. In that magazine he saw a review about alienware systems. He fell in love with them that instant and always fancied one. 7 years later, He brought his first alienware beast- M14x.

Design: fantastic
Build: fantastic
power: more then you will ever need
reliable? : better then the rest

Purchased this beast in july and so far: its been one smooth ride! I feel sorry for guys ending up with troublesome units but guys i really have nothing bad to say about it! no problem so far! great machine and great service by dell. You can see eyeballs move as you carry this machine around.

Would i buy another M14x? hell yeah!
would i recommend others? : maybe not. because i love all the attention this beast gets! no competition is welcomed!

 

I have a refurbished m14x that is still under warranty (i transfered it to me last week). I noticed that there is a small (width of a nail) scratch on the LCD, so will dell fix that?

 

Ask. All they can say is no.

 

My brother bought an M14x last month, I'm currently in the process of selling my m11x R3 to get my own. I was that impressed!

 

Honestly you cant save up 300 bucks in a year? Seems if you were able to save up for the beast and you are that worried about it you should be able to save up a few bucks to buy a warranty, if its that important to you.

Please dont take it as a knock, i'm just trying to understand your concern and your priorities.